Seeing no one looking over, Sun Zhenling quickly pulled Xinyan outside: "Cousin, please, donât let my parents know that Iâm still in contact with Yuan Yikai."
Xinyan frowned slightly: "Whatâs the situation?"
Sun Zhenling glanced back at the house: "Itâs all because of those two families causing trouble. My parents happened to come across it, and now theyâre firmly against us being together."
Xinyan looked at her: "Then how were you together yesterday?"
Sun Zhenling looked guiltily towards the house: "Thatâs why I canât let my parents know."
Xinyan splashed cold water over her: "The problem is not just me seeing you yesterdayâmy dad and Uncle Su saw you too."
Sun Zhenling was dumbfounded: "What? My second uncle saw it too? Itâs over. Itâs over."
In her panic, she almost scratched her ears and cheeks, suddenly grabbing Xinyanâs arm: "Cousin, youâve got to help me."
Yuan Yikaiâs situation didnât look promising to Xinyan either; mostly because his family was too complicated. If Yuan Yikai couldnât handle it, there would be endless trouble in the future.
If her cousin really wanted to marry him, their days would be chaotic: "Zhenling, you must be careful about this. This is a lifelong matter. You need to think it over."
Sun Zhenling sighed: "Cousin, Yuan Yikaiâs character is truly beyond reproach. I know his family situation is a mess, but I like him for who he is."
Seeing her cousin was completely invested, Xinyan asked: "What did he say to you?"
Sun Zhenling fiddled with her fingers: "He initially tried to talk me out of it, but seeing my persistence, he said to keep it from my parents for now, until he has things sorted out, then heâll come to apologize."
Xinyan didnât know what to say for a moment; she couldnât outright deny Yuan Yikai just because of all this mess: "From the first time you mentioned him, itâs been a while now, and he still hasnât handled his family affairs?"
Sun Zhenling coughed lightly: "Itâs not really his fault. Heâs been traveling for work, only staying back for three or four days each time, so he hasnât had time to deal with those family matters."
Xinyan saw her cousin wasnât lying: "So whatâs the current situation on his side?"
Sun Zhenling sighed: "He moved out with his aunt from the Zhang family, oh, I mean her husbandâs family."
Upon hearing this, Xinyan asked directly: "Did his aunt compromise with her husbandâs family?"
This wasnât good news. If his aunt couldnât stand firm and the Zhang family found them again, Yuan Yikai would constantly be in trouble. If this were the case, she wouldnât approve of the relationship either.
Sun Zhenling shook her head: "No, after Yikaiâs uncle died, the Zhang family first tried to force his aunt Wang Xiaodan to leave, thinking that way the two rooms they lived in would be vacated.
Ridiculously, those few sisters-in-law of his aunt even wanted Yikaiâs aunt to pay a tribute to his grandmother.
His aunt was not the type to be bullied. She figured living in the Zhang family wouldnât be peaceful, so she told them if they want the house, then they must forgo any future tribute money for the grandmother.
Initially, the Zhang family didnât agree, thinking the house belongs to them and that if they force them out, the house wouldnât go anywhere and still be theirs.
But Yikaiâs aunt was no pushover and bluntly said if they didnât agree, she would sell the two rooms and turn the courtyard into a big mess."
Hearing this, Xinyan rather admired Yikaiâs auntâs approach: "So has Yuan Yikai completely cut ties with the Zhang family now?"
Sun Zhenling clung pleasingly to Xinyanâs arm, nodding somewhat guiltily: "Sort of cleared up."
Seeing her evasive look, Xinyan knew it wasnât completely resolved: "Explain clearly, or I wonât help you."
Sun Zhenling saw she couldnât fool her cousin, shaking Xinyanâs arm: "His aunt has cleared things up, but those shameless Zhang family people are still trying to extort benefits from Yuan Yikai.
They claim that since the Zhang family raised him, though an uncle, he was also like a foster father.
Although his foster father passed away, they insist that as the foster son, he should still be filial, even causing scenes at the winery several times, but Yuan Yikai never relented.
Seeing they couldnât get any advantage, the Zhang family thought if they couldnât gain something, theyâd make things difficult for Yuan Yikai and brought over his biological mother.
Sheâs also a senseless person; maybe her later marriage isnât going well, so she fell for the Zhang familyâs words, wanting Yikai to support her, which Yikai refused to do.
Not only Yikai, but even his aunt had a fight with her sister over this.
After several incidents, Yuan Yikai was fed up and went directly to the family her mother married into later, fighting his so-called stepfather and stepbrother. Heâs been dealing with these messy affairs these days."